Details of Smart’s (shorter) spring speaking tour

ATHENS — Kirby Smart’s first spring speaking tour as Georgia’s head football coach will not be as arduous as his predecessor’s.

Smart will appear at five UGA day events, down from the seven events Mark Richt did last year, and the 10 he attended in 2014.

Four of the five appearances will be in-state: Macon (May 4), Columbus (May 5), Savannah (May 16) and the annual Atlanta event on July 25. Georgia men’s basketball head coach Mark Fox will join Smart at those four events.

The other appearance, and the first one on the tour, will be next Tuesday in Dallas. Smart will be accompanied on that one by UGA president Jere Morehead.

The sites and dates of the tour, which were just finalized this week, are listed on the UGA alumni association home page, and were confirmed by UGA.

Smart’s contract calls for him to make 12 such public appearances, as did Richt’s. But in both cases the number was reached by counting other events, including donor events. Smart has also spoken at the Macon Touchdown Club in February.

School officials have attributed Smart’s abbreviated tour to having come on late. For what it’s worth, Smart’s former boss Nick Saban will not be doing any tour this spring, according to Al.com, as “other possibilities” are discussed.